About Me

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Every time I open Blogger now to transfer an image I live in fear of a reappearance of the frightening phenomenon that awaited me a few days ago. I've asked God not to let it happen again because I want to live a little longer....no, a lot longer! So, for another day......

I have a slight head cold and didn't think I'd feel like running an extra kilometre in the middle section, but after the fifth kilometre I felt fine and had no trouble doing one more, though I had to stop a couple of times for a nose blow and eye wipe. Dull and overcast day but satisfied with the tempo section which included a couple of short hills.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Owww! My quads were stiff this morning after yesterday's track workout, so cross-training needed to be something easy today.......like short hills and not too many of them. I'm always thinking of how I'm going to feel the day after an easy day which is tomorrow's tempo run.

I parked in Renwick right beside the same short hill I used a week or two ago and, although it's not really steep....as in practically vertical - it does the job for me nicely.

Because I didn't want to become any more distressed than I was yesterday by the 'vision', I didn't race against Virtual Partner this morning and I very much doubted that I'd get in front of him, so I decided to just run each 1600m with as much effort as I could maintain for all three repeats; I think it was the right decision : firstly I jogged a 1600m course for a track around the streets in Renwick and began :

I thought these were good results and certainly surprised me, especially as I usually try to stay ahead of VP and today I just ran by perceived effort for each 1600m. The first 800m fairly flat, then at the turn 600m of gentle uphill - but uphill just the same! - and the last 200m fairly flat.

Monday, May 28, 2012

.....except it happened when I attempted to upload or download - I don't know the difference between the two, so I should just say 'transfer' - when I attempted to transfer a photo to my blog this morning.

I clicked on the icon as I always do and there right in front of my eyes was one of the most terrifying sights anyone would wish not to see. It was a face that would rival anything from a Boris Karloff horror movie, far more hideous than anything in 'Frankenstein' story or film! I thought, "What the ????. What is happening here?" With a troubled frown on my face, I moved in closer, only to see the face move at the same time and frown back at me; I smiled and the face returned what could only be described as a horrible grin; I removed my glasses in case I was seeing some disfigured spectre from another planet. The 'monster' did the same!

And only then did I realize it was my face I was looking at!!! It was a Blogger camera requesting a photo to keep on file! File it? Just how many people did they want to scare to death? No one can ever, never ever, ever possibly imagine the unexpected shock it gave me! I was sick in a second! It took a few more seconds of moving about, in and out, glasses on, off, again and again, before I fully realized what a garish eyesore was staring back at me!

""Holy ####," I said out loud, "do I really look that much like a grinning baboon with grey hair and wearing glasses?" I tried making all sorts of faces but it only worsened the gruesome sight. I clicked it off hoping I'd beaten Blogger to the trigger and then spontaneously did something completely stupid : I rushed into the bathroom and hurriedly slapped on some makeup and even eye shadow - why on earth would I do that? Panic stricken! - but realizing too late that there was absolutely nothing that could be done to erase the sight other than radical facial surgery and that would just be for starters!

This was a seriously scary and painful awakening to facing the truth and worth reporting as much as does my earlier run.

Reminds me of the old movie "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Eek!

An edit to add : A final thought and then I'm going to put this behind me as if it had been a horrible running experience. Why, oh why, did I send recent photos last night to a friend in Noosa! She could be undergoing emergency heart surgery for all I know and it will be all my fault!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

From Diamond Fields Road looking up to Range Road at the top of the photo....how would it be up there today!

A chocolate Energize, a hot shower, two bowls of pea and ham soup, a short nap and now at 6:00pm a bowl of pasta with sauce -all in that order - and I'm beginning to feel some physical sensitivity return after a terrifying night with fierce winds thumping the windows and today's long run in the worst conditions I can recall. Curiously, after such a freezing and windy run, I've had a thirst for cold water for the rest of the day; more than in the heat...I was surprised by this.

I thought the weather sounded less fierce by 10:30am until I was on the way to Diamond Fields Road where I expected there would be more shelter....there wasn't and it became almost a fight for survival! Apart from the hurricane, I was also concerned about branches - not raindrops! - falling on my head....the road was strewn with debris that had fallen during the night.

Over some years I've come to know all the property owners on Diamond Fields Road. There are only about five or six as most properties are over 100 acres for grazing cattle. I can call in to any of them if I want a drink of water, a cup of coffee - I've taken advantage of both - and even a lift home if I need it; so far I haven't had to do that, but the offer stands.......a comforting thought when running alone; good people!

I was one weary kilometre from finishing when a familiar truck and driver going in the opposite direction, pulled up beside me. My friend, the driver, rolled down the window and shouted, "What are you doing out in this weather? Go home and stay inside!" Not much I could argue with about that advice but, as he was about to drive off, he summed it all up neatly by adding, "The older you're getting, the sillier you're getting!"

Now ain't that the truth, I thought! Couldn't argue with it either; but I did finish that last kilometre laughing to myself all the way back to the start!

For the week : 32km - counting only the three major workouts, not 3 days of cross-training.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Cold as well as windy today, so cross-training consisted of a very brisk thirty minute walk from home and back; then almost without stopping, put Amy and Oscar in the car, drove to usual paddock, let them out for a run while I less briskly followed them and Oliver set off on a wild chase following the scent of rabbits!

Oscar loves scenting out rabbits but should one happen to turn and look at him he races back in fright! One day it was very funny to see him and a rabbit mistakenly racing towards each other and passing one another at full speed without so much as a 'how do you do'!

Tomorrow is long run day and the forecast is for a windy 4-11 degrees, same temperatures as today but more cold wind.......all in a day's running I suppose...unless I change to a sunny Sunday.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

What a change in the weather here today! At 10:30am as I left home, the sun disappeared and was quickly replaced with a threatening grey sky. I finished the session just before the rain started and a cold wet afternoon set in. I think it's the first rain we've had this month so it'll be good for the dry gardens and paddocks.

Program:1.5k warm-up5km @ ST pace (6:16-6:23m/k)1.5k cool-down.

1.5k from school to Renwick5km in 32:05.....I was pleased with this time!1km splits......6:19; 6:23; 6:30; 6:22; 6:30Avg 6:25m/k 1.5k back to school.

5km @ ST Pace

I ran entirely within Renwick....up and down the slopes; side to side; all over the place and any which way until I'd finished 5km. I was satisfied with the results today and relieved that I felt comfortable while running.....Amen!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The outcome of today's training was to be prepared for tomorrow's workout! The writing is already on the wall for a tempo run if I start out tired, so today was nice and easy...but making good use of the time.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Nerves have settled since almost being beaten to a frazzle during yesterday's long, perilous run! In any case, today has to be very easy after taking a look at tomorrow's track workout.

So today, other than taking Amy and Oscar for their run through the paddocks, I did the strength exercises recommended in the RLRF book and a few drills......all of which could done safely in the backyard at home! About 25 minutes.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Next time I run on Range Road I'm changing from Saturday to a Sunday when there's less danger of being killed by cars speeding around the long winding road. There's not a continuous stream of traffic like on a city road; instead, every five to ten minutes four to five cars, each within inches of the other, fly like cannon balls around the bends, up and down the narrow road, and God help anyone and anything in their way. If anything happened to just one of the cars, you don't have to be an expert to know that everyone of them would be wiped out in a second. I can't understand it at all, especially when we see graphic images of so many horrific accidents on TV every night of the week. I truly cannot understand it!

What this has to do with my long run on Range Road is pretty obvious. I have to be ready at any second to jump from the road onto the gravel beside the road. This is stressful enough but when there's nothing to jump onto other than taking a nose dive into a ditch, the run very soon becomes a toss up between how quickly can I get out of the way and do I really want to die this way? As soon as I had an opportunity to do so, I turned off Range Road and into Jack Emery Lane, a chance to relax and feel safe for a kilometre or two.

Jack Emery Lane

J.E Lane

Now, that's a real hill! J.E Lane.

I know Sundays used be very quiet and one of the reasons I loved to run there. Today, I'd planned on 17km run; however, by the time I returned to where I started at the Highlands School, I was so stressed that I continued on into the silent streets of Renwick for another 2km to give myself time to settle down, relax....and allow the blood pressure to drop! This is definitely not what running, long or short, should be about. Now for my long, dangerous run/jump/walk.....

I ran/walked 19km (instead of 17k on my program)Time 2:29:45....walking lots of the hills today.Pace? I didn't even think about it......staying alive was my only concern!5km splits : 48:32; 41:32; 40::57; 4k 32:28

Friday, May 18, 2012

I knew the car had to go in for service and registration check this morning, so last night I worked out a plan to fit in some sort of cross-training and it worked out quite well. After leaving the car, it was only a stone's throw, 500m to be exact, to Iron Mines Oval which I've often used for training but hadn't been there for some time.

The cross-training had to be very easy because of tomorrow's long, hard run on Range Road.

500m walk from garage to oval

10 min warm-up jog20 min drills with a stride between each2.53km walk from the oval to home2km walk from home to pick up the car.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Beautiful morning for any sort of run; overly warm in fact especially when I have to run to outstrip the wind! There wasn't any wind at all really; maybe I would have done better if there had been. It was the best I could do todayand I purposely included some hilly sections through Renwick.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

There is a connection as well as the usual things to be seen when walking ....

Cross-training today : 5km walk

An easy day after yesterday's not so good track session and before tomorrow's as yet unknown tempo run!

It's interesting while walking looking at houses and yards : such an array from the well-kept to total disaster! When Jim and I used take the train to Sydney, I often read and always sat at a window seat. After leaving the countryside, the view from thereon into the city and on the return home was backyards of houses and I used be fascinated by what some of these contained! Mostly, ordinary things like who had washing out to dry; items hanging out of windows or over balconies; lawns well kept and those that never were; pets waiting for family to return home; swimming pools, vege patches, aviaries, sometimes chooks and frequently all sorts of junk spilling over everywhere. I just about knew anything that had been changed since our previous trip to the city! It got so that I used feel concern if washing wasn't out on the usual day; a "For Sale' sign had me wondering why; or the dog sitting at the back door wasn't there! People and their backyards........I got to know all the backyards; hardly ever saw people though.

During today's 5km walk I saw many front and back yards! One I particularly like - a paddock more than a backyard - has a range of animals : cows, goats, a couple of horses and sheep, dogs and ducks, garbage for the animals and enough junk to sink a ship!

Monday, May 14, 2012

That's what had to find this morning.......a short, steep hill for some cross-training, and I didn't have to look far. Hills are everywhere but finding exactly the right hill for a particular training session can sometimes be difficult. However, in the new Renwick housing development, Landcom have conveniently set out some long and short hills.......just what I needed today and enough distance from the school where I park for a warm-up.

Today I was looking for something short and steep, and there it was right in the way of an icy, arctic wind.....Cold enough for frostbite.....Eek!!

.

"They tell me it's cold outside!"

Cross-training : Magill short hill repeats. 10 seconds run up at 90-95% effort Walk back, walk around and then run up again and again....8 times!

I was keen to finish and get out of the wind asap! Fifteen minutes jog before and after the hills....about 40 minutes cross-training to start another week.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Except for the last part of this morning's long run, I was feeling pleased with the way I was running and confident that I would get an average pace close to what I'd set for myself. This was a shorter distance and easier course than last Saturday's long run on Range Road, so it was a bit disappointing when I looked at the figures on Garmin Connect and found I didn't run as well as I'd thought. At the time, I felt as if I was scorching the very ground beneath my feet! Oh well......whoop-de-doo! Here goes......

Bizarre as all these may appear to others, and no doubt it would be extremely funny if seen by anyone, I always enjoy these 20 minutes of drills when I get the chance to fit it into the week's training. I didn't want anything too herculean before tomorrow's long run!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Heavens to Betsy! It was hot running today! Not complaining though; this is just perfect weather we're having right now and the cold will be back soon enough.

5km @ short tempo pace.

Program:3.5km easy5km @ 6:16m/km1.5km easy.

Not even the 'easy' sections were easy!

5km in 32:19........that's OK!Avg. Pace 6:27m/km.......I suppose that's OK too!1km splits : 6:23; 6:09; 6:37; 6:52; 6:24Except for the first section through Renwick, the rest was a rock strewn dirt road with lots of potholes and a couple of short rises. PHEW! Glad that one is over!

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

I was so very tired last night after the morning's track session, I changed what I'd planned for today's cross-training. I'd intended doing a set of Magill drills followed by about 15-20 minutes of easy running. Instead, I did a brisk walk keeping in mind that tomorrow's tempo run would be hard work as it usually is and I don't want to be any more tired for that than I already am. Walking is one of the suggested means of cross-training recommended by my program. Magill will just have to wait another week!

Today's 8km walk.

I enjoyed walking on another gorgeous day here and may they long continue to stay like this! I find that walking, as opposed to running, sets the mind free to roam where it will, like a balloon taken skywards by the breeze. Running keeps my thoughts on running : breathing, form, relaxing, foot fall and a dozen other things including cars, the surroundings and scenery etc.

Walking this morning allowed my thoughts to go where they will and, at the same time, enjoy the scenery much more up close than when running. One of these idle thoughts took me back to last night when I was feeling tired and, to be truthful, a little on the lonely side. I was standing at the sink washing one saucepan, one plate, one knife, one fork and one spoon when I decided it was alright to let a few tears mingle with the soap suds. It was short-lived, no gushing hysterics and didn't add much to the detergent in the sink, but cathartic nonetheless.

However, when I turned to reach for the tea towel to dry the one saucepan, one plate, one knife, one fork and one spoon, right behind me sat Amy and Oscar looking very woe-begone and concerned....as if they really wanted to join in whatever they thought was going on. How quickly they pickup on the mood of their mistress! Naturally, I had to jolly myself up, get out their packet of treats and reward them for their loyalty and understanding!

What all that has to do with cross-training I haven't the faintest idea!

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Not a real track but different street location from Radio Road at the school where I've been doing Tuesday's training. I jogged from the school to Renwick and worked out an 800m stretch on much wider streets that I could run without having to double back after 400m, as I did previously, to do 800m. It was at that 400m turn that Virtual Partner occasionally used overtake me....but only temporarily!

I never find 800m repeats much to my liking and that's because I think they're extremely hard work and the streets aren't perfectly flat of course. However, I felt OK about the session - especially after #6 - and was able to do the 800's on target. Beautiful, warm, sunny day in the Southern Highlands; hope it was as good everywhere else.

Monday, May 07, 2012

Having Sunday off, I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I unwisely looked at the windows and sliding glass doors and noticed that it was getting increasingly more difficult to see outside from inside....and vice versa! A few boring hours passed after I assembled all the equipment etc that Google said I needed to make the glass sparkling clean again. That was how Sunday came and went, but the windows and glass doors, if not sparkling, are certainly the next best thing and the view to Mt Alexandra never looked more beautiful!

Today, before track tomorrow, needed to be an easy, cross-training session.....

20 minutes strength exercises (as outlined in RLRF)2 drills with strides for sluggish legs before running!30 minutes easy running around Renwick....about 4km2 drills with strides to flush out - as described by RLRF - sluggish legs after slow running.

Saturday, May 05, 2012

I'm still using the same eighteen weeks' program that I used in the lead up to the Canberra Half Marathon last month. So that I don't repeat it at the same level, I've made each of the three key workouts a little more difficult this time round by increasing the paces in Workouts #1 and #2, track and tempo runs and running longer for Workout #3, the long run.

I'm also making long runs more difficult by doing alternate weekends on Range Road where there's nothing but hills, hills and more hills! This will be slower but the next weekend will be shorter and, hopefully, faster and in a flatter area. That's the plan anyway and today I completed week two. In this way, I hope to strengthen the legs and develop better endurance; these two areas, I believe, are where my main weaknesses lie! There are others but too many to mention!!

Mittagong is somewhere in the valley between the trees and Mt Alexandra in the distance

Today was a Range Road run. Long time since I ran there and I was shocked at how difficult I found it! Kilometres two, three and four go straight uphill, getting steeper all the way up Old South Road and left into Range Road. Once on Range Road there's a succession of rolling hills, one or two seriously terrifying, all the way out to Glenquarry! Splits for each 5km reflect the degree of difficulty I faced today!

Friday, May 04, 2012

Another glorious day here : sunny and warm. Just the sort of day you wouldn't want to be anywhere else but outside.

For today's easy training I began with the two drills + strides that are meant to flush out sluggish legs! Mine, luckily, were feeling in fine fettle, but nothing lost in doing the strides before and after each run.

I went for an easy jog along Diamond Fields Road where I hadn't been running since the heavy rains eroded the surface. It's now been resurfaced and as always, a favourite place to run.

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Those two drills and strides I wrote about two days ago actually work! They have to be the reason I ran so remarkably well this morning!! I don't want to be a braggart but..........I ran my best 5km time since I can't remember when! I'd love to know what it would be on a track or flat surface because the roads I ran on today have a few short hills, one especially just before the 3km mark.

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

I was reading a chapter in "RLRF" about two key drills that can help with running form and efficiency using strides and two drills. The book says these can be used as a part of a warm up or even after an easy run. It goes on to say : "Performing strides on a grass field or flat area will help flush out legs made sluggish from slow running."

"Sluggish legs" hit me right in the face!! This is what the book says:

Begin your stride warm up by doing 'butt kicks" for 20 metres and then striding for 80 metres, gradually accelerating for 60metres and then decelerating for 20 metres. After recovery (20 seconds), turn around and do high knee lifts for 20 metres, and then stride for 80 metres, gradually accelerating for 60 metres and then decelerating for 20 metres.

I did the butt kicks and knee lifts strides in the soccer field before setting off for an easy run of 30-45 minutes.

30:05 minutes. 4km.

Back at the soccer field I removed shoes and socks and repeated the same strides on the cold, wet grass hoping that it will help 'flush out legs made sluggish from slow running!

I struggled with everyone of these repeats; lacking energy and tired. I suspect yesterday's hill repeats might have been the reason. Cross-training days are meant to be easier than what I did yesterday. Tomorrow, another cross-training session, will probably be some easy running.